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Redefining the agency – why and how agencies need to evolve

Redefining the agency – why and how agencies need to evolve

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This post is sponsored by 4 Thirteen.

Having been a member of the agency community here in Malaysia for nearly two decades now, I have seen the industry both flourish and at times, flounder under the weight of the ever-changing socio-economic landscape. These ever-changing landscapes have brought with them new expectations and demands from clients.

Clients today are looking for agencies that not only have the ability to execute what was asked of them creatively, but also the strategic foresight, and an intrinsic understanding of their business.

Oftentimes, a client may come to us with a brief for a specific campaign, and while those objectives are important, what I have found to be far more rewarding in building value and trust between the agency and the client is going that extra mile and digging a little deeper into the longer-term objectives, which often are not communicated.

For us, at 4 Thirteen, this has been the philosophy that we have adopted for years now. We view ourselves not so much as an agency, but rather as a strategic partner to our clients.

Being a strategic partner is about forging a truly collaborative relationship with clients. Many speak about treating client relationships as partnerships, but what I have found is not many understand (or want to) what being in a partnership actually entails.

As true partners, we must be fully immersed in the medium and long-term business goals of the company and not mere pixel pushers completely siloed in the present campaign. The aim must be contributing to the comprehensive sustainability of the client’s business, not simply checking off a key performance index value to satisfy a report.

Thus, moving away from being an implementation arm of an organisation, and evolving into the strategic brain of the operations, is what we as agencies must strive towards in becoming strategic partners.

At 4 Thirteen, this sort of thinking harkens back to our branding roots, where the emphasis was on a more holistic and overarching view of a business. As a strategic partner, we focus on tackling these longer term objectives while also effectively delivering on the shorter term campaign goals.

More often than not, conversations revolve around business strategies to solve underlying business problems. This stems from our unique approach that adopts a very start-up and entrepreneurial approach. This entrepreneurial mindset is a vital component of being a solid partner and we encourage all of our team members to think and act in this manner.

Part of being a true strategic partner is also about being direct, transparent and unafraid to raise a voice of concern when we genuinely feel that a proposed course of action would be to the detriment of the client’s overall business objectives. Likewise, we have been transparent in our limitations and those of our peers to consistently ensure that expectations are well-managed and aligned.

This approach of being a strategic partner has already proven to be highly successful for us and the brands we have worked with. For instance, we have taken a brand from relative obscurity to what is now recognised as Malaysia’s leading book fair. It has also seen a fledgling telco go from start-up to the most innovative telco player in esports.

We even once had an insurance client of ours tell us, “You understand us”; this resonated with me because it wasn’t just “you understand our campaign or brand” it was the holistic “us”.

Now, this is what we strive for with every one of our clients. Not that we’ve completed a successful campaign or followed their brief to a T, but instead that we intrinsically understand their business, knowing its ins and outs and being able to advise and act accordingly.

But evolving as an agency also has to happen internally. How you treat your people (whether it be staff or third party vendors) is just as important as how you treat your clients – perhaps even more so. Not only is it a reflection of the values of your organisation, but more importantly it fosters long, positive, and lasting relationships which is a cornerstone of any successful business.

When we first started 4 Thirteen, we went into it knowing that we wanted to create an environment that was nurturing and genuinely conducive for people. Like many of you, we heard many horror stories about creatives getting burned out, or worse yet, driven quite literally to death on the job.

We knew any organisation that we built would have to push back against such practices and instead create an environment of mutual respect. One which prioritised empowering our staff to lead a healthy work-life rhythm. 

This is why we have worked so hard to champion initiatives and policies that address these issues head-on, whether it is successfully implementing a four-day work week or having counsellors on standby at all times. We believe the agency of tomorrow must put the needs of their staff front and centre at all times.

As 4 Thirteen grew from a graphic design studio to a creative branding agency, and now to a full-service strategic partner, these are the values that we will continue to uphold and perpetuate. To function as an actual strategic partner to our clients, and as a truly caring company to our employees.

As we venture into a new age of the industry, I believe every agency out there could genuinely benefit from this introspective look at how it approaches client relationships and those with their staff as well. The need for evolution has arrived and we must answer the call.

The writer is Danny Gnaniah, CEO of 4 Thirteen Group.

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